Rinsing solutions containing natural extracts and fluoride prevent enamel erosion in vitro

Polyphenols interact with salivary proteins and can thereby improve the erosion protective properties of the pellicle. This effect could be exploited to create rinsing solutions with polyphenols as active ingredients for erosion prevention. Such rinses would, other than the current gold standard for erosion protective rinsing solutions, not rely on stannous ions. This would offer alternatives for patients with concerns regarding the composition of rinsing solutions and preferring bio-products. The objective was to develop an erosion-preventive rinsing solution containing natural polyphenol-rich extracts. We prepared solutions containing polyphenols from either grapeseed extract or cranberry extract, added 500 ppm fluoride, and additionally flavors and sweeteners. Controls were deionized water, 500 ppm fluoride solution, and the gold standard rinse in the field (containing Sn2+/F-). Enamel specimens (n = 15/group) were subjected to 5 cycles of: salivary pellicle formation, modification with the solutions, further salivary pellicle formation, and erosive challenge. Surface microhardness, surface reflection intensity, and amount of calcium release were measured. Surface microhardness and surface reflection intensity were then ransformed to relative surface microhardness and relative surface reflection intensity. Data were analysed with Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon rank sum tests (α = 0.05). (2023-06-23)